Cardiac Cougars pull out another close game, move on to Sweet 16 – Deseret News

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DENVER — The Mile High City was once again magical for the Sweet 16-bound BYU Cougars, but only by a hair this time.

Floppy-haired BYU guard Richie Saunders, doing his best Jimmer Fredette impression, scored 25 points and the Cougars were almost perfect from the free-throw line, going 15 of 16 from the stripe, as the No. 6 seed outlasted No. 3 seed Wisconsin’s ferocious last-minute comeback to take a 91-89 win in an NCAA Tournament Round of 32 game Saturday night at Ball Arena.

“This was super remarkable and just something I will remember forever,” said guard Trevin Knell, who was 4 of 6 from the 3-point line, for 14 points.

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So will Cougar Nation.

The ending was right out of a Hollywood script, unlike 14 years ago when BYU blitzed Gonzaga 89-67 to reach the Sweet 16 on the very same court, with Fredette pouring in 34 points in that laugher.

For all those last-minute twists and turns that had nearly the entire nation watching on CBS, college basketball junkies can thank Wisconsin’s John Tonje, who scored 37 points, was 14 of 16 from the free-throw line and almost singlehandedly brought the Badgers (27-10) back from an 11-point deficit with two minutes, 34 seconds remaining.

At the end of the offensive masterpiece, however, it was a clutch stop by BYU defensive specialist Mawot Mag on Tonje that proved to be the winning play.

Tonje’s jumper with a second remaining that would have sent the game into overtime didn’t come close and the Cougars began celebrating the historic win.

“He had a phenomenal game. He had a lot of points. I just tried to make it as difficult as possible. I knew he was going to catch the ball with a full head of steam. I didn’t want to foul him, because they were in the double bonus,” Mag said.

“I just picked him up at the 3-point line and made him take a contested shot without fouling. … He is a…

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Publish date : 2025-03-23 05:09:00

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